Dear friends,
the following differences occur in the Epistles of James, Peter and Jude:
Passage
Recovery Version
New World Translation
Greek Term
which he promised to those who
Which Jehovah promised to
Jam 1:12
EPEGGEILATO
love him.
those who continue loving him.
with whom is no variation or
with him there is not a variation
Jam 1:17
ETA
shadow cast by turning
of the turning of the shadow
With it we bless the Lord and
With it we bless Jehovah, even
Jam 3:9
KAI
Father,
[the] Father,
The Spirit of Christ in them was
the spirit in them was indicating
PNEUMA
1P 1:11
making clear
concerning Christ
CHRISTOU
made alive in the Spirit; in which
but being made alive in the spirit.
1P 3:18-19
also he went
In this [state] also he went
2P 1:1
our God and Savior, Jesus Christ
Our God and [the] Savior Jesus
But the day of the Lord will come
Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a
KURIOS
2P 3:10
as a thief (…) and the earth and
thief (…) and earth and the works
the works in it will be burned up.
in it will be discovered.
KATAKAIO
and denying our only Master and
and proving false to our only
Jude 1:4
DESPOTES
Lord, Jesus Christ.
Owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Lord came with myriads of
Jehovah came with his holy
Jude 1:14
his saints
myriads
Jude 1:19
having no spirit
not having spirituality
PNEUMA
James 1:12 (the divine name in the NT)
In this passage the Greek word EPEGGEILATO (he promised) was mistranslated as “Jehovah
promised” although there is no corresponding word KURIOS (or THEOS) in the Greek text.
Regarding this passage the famous Greek scholar Bruce M. Metzger states:
In the style of rabbinical writings, where the word "God" is sometimes to be supplied mentally, the
earlier and better witnesses (P23 ALEF A B PSI 81 206* 323 itff copsa, bo arm) support the reading
EPEGGEILATO, without a subject being expressed. Later witnesses, however, fill out what may have
seemed to be a lacuna by adding either KYRIOS (C 1829 l680) or HO KYRIOS (K L P most minuscules
syrh) or HO THEOS (33vid 322 323 463 547 945 1241 1739 2492 vg syrp eth). (A Textual Commentary
on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition, Bruce M. Metzger, page 608).
James 1:17 (unchangeable God)
The Recovery Version reads:
James 1:17 – All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variation or shadow cast by turning.
~ 1 ~
However, the NWT renders this passage as follows:
James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the
Father of the [celestial] lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow.
James used here three unique words in his description of the heavenly Father. The Greek
phrase is OUK ENI PARALLAGE E TROPES APOSKIASMA. A good translation would be, "There is not
any possibility of change nor place for a shadow to turn". The letter E denotes in this case the
disjunctive conjunction (see for example Ephesians 5:5 or James 4 (verse 5 or 13), where the same
letter occurs with meaning “or”). But the translation of the phrase “variation of the turning of the
shadow”, which occurs in the NWT, would be rather PARALLAGE HE TROPES APOSKIASMATOS.
Certainly, the whole verse may be compared with John’s critical message: "God is light, and in him is
no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).
Regarding this passage the famous Greek scholar Bruce M. Metzger states:
The obscurity of the passage has led to the emergence of a variety of readings. The reading of ALEF*
B (PARALLAGE ETA TROPES APOSKIASMATOS) makes sense only if ETA is read HE ("variation which is
of [i. e. consists in, or belongs to] the turning of the shadow") – although even so the expression is
excessively turgid. Taking ETA as E the other witnesses read either the genitive before and after E
(PARALLAGES E TROPES APOSKIASMATOS P23) or the nominative (in a variety of variant readings)
before and after E. In the opinion of the Committee the least unsatisfactory reading is PARALLAGE E
TROPES APOSKIASMA, supported by ALEFc A C K P 81 1739 Byz Lect vg syrp,h arm al. The Sahidic
seeks to avoid the difficulties by taking each noun separately: "[there is not any] shadow or change
or variation [literally, declining]." At the close of the verse several minuscules (876 1518 1610 1765
2138) add the gloss OUDE MECHRI HYPONOIAS TINOS HYPOBOLE APOSKIASMATOS ("not even the
least suspicion of a shadow"). (Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New
Testament, Second Edition., pages 608-609).
The Triune God is immutable (unchangeable) in his nature (Mal 3:6; Heb 6:17; Ps 102:25):
1. God the Father is unchangeable: Jam 1:17
2. The Son of God is unchangeable: Heb 13:8
3. The Holy Spirit is unchangeable: 1Cor 12:4
James 3:9 (the Lord and Father)
This is the last passage in the Epistle of James where God is referred to as Father (PATER). In
the first passage (Jam 1:17) he is called “the Father of lights”, in the second passage (Jam 1:27) he is
called “our God and Father” and in the third passage (Jam 3:9) he is called “the Lord and Father”.
Father is a new name of God proclaimed by Jesus in the NT. This is the teaching of the whole
NT. A distinctive NT revelation is that through faith in Christ, God becomes our personal Father.
Father is used of God in the OT only 15 times while it is used of God almost 260 times in the NT. As a
name of God, it stresses God’s loving care, provision, discipline, and the way we are to address God
in prayer (Matt 7:11; John 15:16, 16:23; Eph 2:18, 3:14-15; 1Thes 3:11; Heb 12:5-11; Jam 1:17).
According to the NWT the following persons in the history of early Christianity have
proclaimed the name of God (Tetragrammaton). Proclamations involved in the same event in various
gospels are to count together:
~ 2 ~
Person
Passages
OT Quotations Direct speech
Angel
Luke 1:15,16,17
3
Elisabeth
Luke 1:25,45
2
Angel Gabriel
Luke 1:28,32
2
Mary
Luke 1:38,46
2
Zechariah
Luke 1:68,76
2
Shepherds
Luke 2:15
1
John the Baptist John 1:23
1
Jesus
Matt 4:4,7,10, 5:33, 21:42, 22:37, 44, 23:39;
12(20)
3(3)
Mark 5:19, 12:11,29(twice),30,36, 13:20;
Luke 4:8,12,18,19, 13:35, 20:37,42; John 6:45
Crowd/disciples
Matt 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13
1(4)
Teacher of Law
Luke 10:27
1
Apostles
Acts 1:24, 4:26, 29
1
2
Peter
Acts 2:20,21,25,34,39, 3:19,22, 5:9, 8:22, 12:11
6
4
Stephen
Acts 7:31,33,49,60
2
2
Simon (magical)
Acts 8:24
1
Cornelius
Acts 10:33
1
Saul (Paul)
Acts 13:10,11, 18:21, 21:14
4
Paul & Barnabas Acts 13:47, 15:36
1
1
Lydia
Acts 16:15
1
As we can see Jesus only 15 times in various situations used the divine name (according to
the NWT). Let us see now statistical chart which will present how many times in connection with God
the new name ‘Father’ was used:
Book
Passages with Father
Count
Jehovah
Matthew
Matt 5:16; 5:45; 5:48; 6:1; 6:4; 6:6 (twice); 6:8; 6:9; 6:14;
43
18
6:15; 6:18 (twice); 6:26; 6:32; 7:11; 7:21; 10:20; 10:29;
10:32; 10:33; 11:26; 11:27 (thrice); 12:50; 13:43; 15:13;
16:17; 16:27; 18:10; 18:14; 18:19; 18:35; 20:23; 23:9;
24:36; 25:34; 26:29; 26:39; 26:42; 26:53; 28:19
Mark
Mark 8:38; 11:25; 13:32; 14:36
4
9
Luke
Luke 2:49; 6:36; 9:26; 10:21 (twice); 10:22 (thrice); 11:2;
17
36
11:13; 12:30; 12:32; 22:29; 22:42; 23:34; 23:46; 24:49
John
John 1:18; 2:16; 3:35; 4:21; 4:23 (twice); 5:17; 5:18; 5:19;
119
5
5:20; 5:21; 5:22; 5:23 (twice); 5:26; 5:36 (twice); 5:37; 5:43;
5:45; 6:27; 6:32; 6:37; 6:40; 6:44; 6:45; 6:46 (twice); 6:57
(twice); 6:65; 8:16; 8:18; 8:19 (thrice); 8:27; 8:28; 8:38; 8:42;
8:49; 8:54: 10:15 (twice); 10:17; 10:18; 10:25; 10:29 (twice);
10:30; 10:32; 10:36; 10:37; 10:38 (twice); 11:41; 12:26;
12:27; 12:28; 12:49; 12:50; 13:1; 13:3; 14:2; 14:6; 14:7; 14:8;
14:9 (twice); 14:10 (thrice); 14:11 (twice); 14:12; 14:13;
14:16; 14:20; 14:21; 14:23; 14:24; 14:26; 14:28 (twice);
14:31 (twice); 15:1; 15:8; 15:9; 15:10; 15:15; 15:16; 15:23;
15:24; 15:26 (twice); 16:3; 16:10; 16:15; 16:17; 16:23; 16:25;
16:26; 16:27 (twice); 16:28 (twice); 16:32; 17:1; 17:5; 17:11;
17:21; 17:24; 17:25; 18:11; 20:17 (thrice); 20:21.
Acts
Acts 1:4; 1:7; 2:33; 13:33
4
52
~ 3 ~
Romans
Rom 1:7; 6:4; 8:15; 15:6
4
19
1Corinthians
1Cor 1:3; 8:6; 15:24
3
15
2Corinthians
2Cor 1:2; 1:3 (twice); 11:31
4
10
Galatians
Gal 1:1; 1:3; 1:4; 4:6
4
1
Ephesians
Eph 1:2; 1:3; 1:17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:23
8
6
Philippians
Php 1:2; 2:11; 4:20
3
-
Colossians
Col 1:2; 1:3; 1:12; 3:17
4
6
1Thessalonians
1Thes 1:1; 1:3; 3:11; 3:13
4
4
2Thessalonians
2Thes 1:1; 1:2; 2:16
3
3
1Timothy
1Tim 1:2
1
-
2Timothy
2Tim 1:2
1
4
Titus
Tit 1:4
1
-
Philemon
Phm 1:3
1
-
Hebrews
Heb 12:9
1
12
James
Jam 1:17; 1:27; 3:9
3
13
1Peter
1P 1:2; 1:3; 1:17
3
3
2Peter
2P 1:17
1
6
1John
1John 1:2; 1:3; 2:1; 2:13; 2:15; 2:16; 2:22; 2:23 (twice); 2:24;
12
-
3:1; 4:14;
2John
2John 1:3 (twice); 1:4; 1:9
4
-
3John
-
Jude
Jude 1:1
1
3
Revelation
Rev 1:6; 2:27; 3:5; 3:21; 14:1
5
12
Total
258
237
Sometimes we fall prey to using the terms Father and Son as though they were a
mathematical equation. To this we must be careful lest we confuse the Biblical distinction between
the two terms. To say that Jesus is the Father is legitimate if we use it in the right context.
The Bible uses the term Father for God in three distinct ways: he is the Father of mankind in
the sense that he is the creator of all things (origins), he is the Father of believers in the sense that he
has adopted them as his children (familial), and he is the Father of Jesus Christ in the sense of
begetting him (paternal). It is only in this last usage of the word that we must beware of calling Jesus
the Father, lest we obliterate the distinction made between God and Jesus Christ in the NT
(especially the gospels where we see Jesus relating to God as his Father).
It must be known that Father was not a special or revealed name for God. God never said,
"My name is Father". Father was a mere appellation describing the way in which God related to man.
God is our Father, just as he is also our provider, our righteousness, our victory, and our peace. God's
revealed name in the OT was YHWH, to which he is referred to over 6800 times. He is also referred to
as ELOHIM (God) over 2600 times, which is a generic term for YHWH. In comparison, God is only
likened to a father, or calls himself Father thirteen times in the OT (Numbers 11:12; 2Samuel 7:14;
1Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 68:4-5, 89:24-27, 103:13; Isaiah 9:6, 63:16, 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4, 19, 31:9;
Malachi 2:10). God's role as a father is portrayed when the Bible speaks about Israel as being his
children in a covenantal sense (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 1:31; 8:5; 14:1; Isaiah 64:8; Malachi 2:10),
and of David and Solomon as being his sons like a suzerain to a vassal (Psalm 2:7; 2Samuel 7:14).
These OT uses of "Father" pertain to God's relationship to the created realm. This is important to
understand because God cannot be eternally Father if there is not an eternal Son. This argument
reads NT designations for God back into the OT as though God has eternally been Father. The OT
~ 4 ~
never speaks of "God the Father". This was not a name for God. We only see this prevalent usage for
God in the NT with the advent of Jesus Christ. All of this is not to say that God is not identified as
Father in the OT, but that Father was never a proper name for God in the OT, and neither was it
commonly used of God as it is in the NT. While it is true that it became common for the Jews to refer
to God as "Father" by the time of Jesus' day, this was a later development, and such frequency of
usage is not found in the OT Scripture.
Jesus continually spoke of God, and to God as the Father. In the Gospel of John, Jesus used
the term "God" twenty-three times, while he called God his "Father" 109 times. To my knowledge,
Jesus only called the Father, "God," in direct address a mere three times (Matthew 27:46; John 17:3,
20:17). He consistently spoke of God as Father.
The following table should clarify the term ‘name’ used in the Bible:
Names of God (distinct from YHWH)
Names of the Son of God (distinct from YHWH)
Jealous (Exodus 34:14)
Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)
Poured out oil (Ca 1:3)
Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)
Repurchaser of long ago (Isaiah 63:16)
Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6)
Jehovah the God of armies (Amos 5:27)
Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
Father (Matt 6:9)
Jesus (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31)
Abba (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6)
Immanuel (Matt 1:23)
The Word of God (Rev 19:13)
King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16)
The following passages should be now correctly understood:
Matt 6:9 – You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, your name be sanctified;
John 17:25-26 – Righteous Father, (…) (26) And I have made your name known to them (…)
1 Peter 1:11 (the Spirit of Christ)
Another example of the supernatural presence of Jesus in the life of Jews is obscured with a
more abstract representation of the Holy Spirit to accommodate the WTS doctrine. The passage is
rendered in the Recovery Version as follows:
1Peter 1:10-11 – Concerning this salvation the prophets, who prophesied concerning the grace that
was to come unto you, sought and searched diligently, (11) Searching into what time or what manner
of time the Spirit of Christ in them was making clear, testifying the beforehand of the suffering of
Christ and the glories after these.
The passage is talking about the Spirit of Christ being in the prophets of the OT. It shows that
Jesus’ Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God. However, the NWT renders the last verse as follows:
1Peter 1:11 – They kept on investigating what particular season or what sort of [season] the sprit in
them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings
for Christ and about the glories to follow these.
The NWT reading is extremely awkward here. In order to deny the truth about the deity of
Christ and that the prophets of the OT were under influence of the Spirit of Christ when prophesying
~ 5 ~
about him the text has been completely altered from the original Greek to avoid the true meaning of
the verse. What the Greek text quite clearly says is “the spirit of Christ within them”. It does NOT say
“the spirit concerning Christ”. Obviously the word “concerning” is not in the Greek text. The following
table confirms the fact that the WTS well knows what is the correct meaning of the phrase PNEUMA
CHRISTOU, which is rendered fully correct in other places:
Verse
Greek text
Translation
Text in the NWT
Acts 16:7
TO PNEUMA IESOU
the Spirit of Jesus
The spirit of Jesus
Rom 8:9a
PNEUMA THEOU
Spirit of God
God’s spirit
Rom 8:9b
PNEUMA CHRISTOU
Spirit of Christ
Christ’s spirit
TOU PNEUMATOS
Phil 1:19
Of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
Of the spirit of Jesus Christ
IESOU CHRISTOU
1Peter 1:11
PNEUMA CHRISTOU
Spirit of Christ
The spirit concerning Christ
Peter references the Father, Son, and Spirit, attributing election to the Father; sanctification
to the Spirit; and the sacrifice for redemption to Jesus Christ (1Peter 1:2). He also said that it was the
Spirit of Christ that testified to the prophets the things they wrote about (1Peter 1:11). In his second
epistle Peter attributed this role to the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:21). In this way, the Spirit of Christ is
equated with the Holy Spirit.
The following parallel passages indicate that expressions “Holy Spirit”, “Spirit of Jesus”,
“Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” are equivalent:
Acts 6:6-7 – And they passed through the Region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by
the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. (7) And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into
Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
Rom 8:9 – But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet
if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of him.
Thus, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The following table shows
various names for the Holy Spirit related to God and the persons of the Father and the Son:
Old Testament
New Testament
Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11)
Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13; Acts 16:6)
Willing Spirit (Psalm 51:12)
Spirit of God (Matt 3:16; Rom 8:9a; 1Cor 3:16)
Spirit of judgment (Isaiah 4:4)
Spirit of the Lord (Luke 4:18; Acts 5:9, 8:39)
Spirit of burning (Isaiah 4:4)
Spirit of the Father (Matt 10:20)
Spirit of Jehovah (Isaiah 11:2)
Spirit of his Son (Gal 4:6)
Spirit of wisdom and understanding (Isaiah 11:2)
Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7)
Spirit of counsel and power (Isaiah 11:2)
Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9b; 1Peter 1:11)
Spirit of knowledge and fear of Lord (Isaiah 11:2) Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19)
Spirit of the Lord Jehovah (Isaiah 61:1)
Spirit of reality (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13)
Spirit of grace and of prayers (Zechariah 12:10)
Spirit of holiness (Rom 1:4)
Spirit of life (Rom 8:2)
Spirit of the promise (Eph 1:13)
Spirit of grace (Heb 10:29)
Spirit of glory (1Peter 4:14)
Spirit of the prophecy (Rev 19:10)
The eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14)
Comforter (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7)
~ 6 ~
1Peter 2:3, 3:15 (Jesus is YHWH)
Notice this comparison between 1 Peter 3:14-15 and Isaiah 8:12-13. The first passage says:
1Peter 3:14-15 (NWT) – But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are happy.
However, the object of their fear do not you fear, neither become agitated. (15) But sanctify the
Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you
a reason for the hope in you, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect.
Now, the second passage says:
Isaiah 8:12-13 (NWT) – ‘You men must not say, “A conspiracy!” respecting all that of which this
people keep saying, “A conspiracy!” and the object of their fear you men must not fear, nor must
you tremble at it. (13) Jehovah of armies - he is the One whom you should treat as holy, and he
should be the object of your fear, and he should be the One causing you to tremble.’
This comparison is even more striking if one compares the Greek word order of 1Peter with
the Greek text of Isaiah. The Greek Septuagint has (adapted from Brenton’s edition of the LXX):
Isaiah 8:12-13 (Brenton) – Let them not say, It is hard, for whatsoever this people says, is hard: but
fear not ye their fear, neither be dismayed. (13) Sanctify ye the Lord himself; and he shall be thy fear.
Peter, writing in Greek, would most naturally quote from the standard Greek translation of
the Old Testament, the Septuagint. The Septuagint here says:
Isaiah 8:12-13 (LXX) – μηποτε ειπητε ςκληρον παν γαρ ο εαν ειπη ο λαοσ ουτοσ ςκληρον εςτιν τον δε
φοβον αυτου ου μη φοβηθητε ουδε μη ταραχθητε (13) κυριον αυτον αγιασατε και αυτοσ εςται ςου
φοβοσ
The quotation in 1Peter 3:14-15 is practically identical except here Peter exchanges the word
AUTON – “himself” for DE TON CHRISTON —“who is Christ”. He writes:
1Peter 3:14-15 (WH) – αλλ ει και παςχοιτε δια δικαιοςυνην μακαριοι τον δε φοβον αυτων μη
φοβηθητε μηδε ταραχθητε (15) κυριον δε τον χριστον αγιασατε εν ταισ καρδιαισ υμων ετοιμοι αει
προσ απολογιαν παντι τω αιτουντι υμασ λογον περι τησ εν υμιν ελπιδοσ αλλα μετα πραυτητοσ και
φοβου
Peter added a parenthetical thought to his quotation from Isaiah. In this passage Peter
clarified that the Lord (YHWH) we are to sanctify is Christ! When now the Septuagint had the
Tetragrammaton instead of KURION (as the WTS assumes) then the text should read as follows:
Isaiah 8:12-13 (LXX with Tetragrammaton) – μηποτε ειπητε ςκληρον παν γαρ ο εαν ειπη ο λαοσ
ουτοσ ςκληρον εςτιν τον δε φοβον αυτου ου μη φοβηθητε ουδε μη ταραχθητε (13) YHWH αυτον
αγιασατε και αυτοσ εςται ςου φοβοσ
Now, Peter’s quotation in his letter should take the following form:
1Peter 3:14-15 (WH with Tetragrammaton) – αλλ ει και παςχοιτε δια δικαιοςυνην μακαριοι τον δε
φοβον αυτων μη φοβηθητε μηδε ταραχθητε (15) YHWH δε τον χριστον αγιασατε εν ταισ καρδιαισ
υμων ετοιμοι αει προσ απολογιαν παντι τω αιτουντι υμασ λογον περι τησ εν υμιν ελπιδοσ αλλα μετα
πραυτητοσ και φοβου
~ 7 ~
After translation this passage into English it would now mean that the Christ is Jehovah:
1Peter 3:14-15 (NWT) – But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are happy.
However, the object of their fear do not you fear, neither become agitated. (15) But sanctify the Christ
as Jehovah in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a
reason for the hope in you, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect.
Therefore, either 1Peter 3:14-15 should have been translated in the NWT with the divine
name and Jesus is here obviously called Jehovah, or the Septuagint of the early Christians did not
contain the Tetragrammaton. At least, the context shows that Peter’s intention was to apply the
thought in Isaiah 8:12-13 to the Christ. Then there is the prophecy from Isaiah 40:3-5:
Isaiah 40:3-5 – Listen! Someone is calling out in the wilderness: ‘Clear up the way of Jehovah, you
people! Make the highway for our God through the desert plain straight. (4) Let every valley be raised
up, and every mountain and hill be made low. And the knobby ground must become level land, and
the rugged ground a valley plain. (5) And the glory of Jehovah will certainly be revealed, and all flesh
must see [it] together, for the very mouth of Jehovah has spoken [it].’
Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 3:2-6 and John 1:23 apply this passage to the preparatory
work of John the Baptist before the ministry of Jesus. It becomes therefore undeniable that NT
writers applied OT passages about Yahweh to Jesus. Can we be sure they were thereby identifying
Jesus with Yahweh? Let us consider next example. Isaiah describes a vision of Yahweh in his temple:
Isaiah 6:1-10 – In the year that King Uzziah died I, however, got to see Jehovah, sitting on a throne
lofty and lifted up, and his skirts were filling the temple. (2) Seraphs were standing above him. (…)
(3) And this one called to that one and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all
the earth is his glory’. (…) (5) And I proceeded to say: ‘Woe to me! (…) for my eyes have seen the King,
Jehovah of armies, himself!’ (…) (8) And I began to hear the voice of Jehovah saying: ‘Whom shall I
send, and who will go for us?’ And I proceeded to say: ‘Here I am! Send me.’ (9) And he went on to
say: ‘Go, and you must say to this people, “Hear again and again, O men, but do not understand; and
see again and again, but do not get any knowledge.” (10) Make the heart of this people unreceptive,
and make their very ears unresponsive, and paste their very eyes together, that they may not see
with their eyes and with their ears they may not hear, and that their own heart may not understand
and that they may not actually turn back and get healing for themselves .’
John references this vision of Yahweh’s glory to an incident in Jesus’ ministry:
John 12:36-41 – (…) Jesus spoke these things and went off and hid from them. (37) But although he
had performed so many signs before them, they were not putting faith in him. (…) (39) The reason why
they were not able to believe is that again Isaiah said: (40) ‘He has blinded their eyes and he has made
their hearts hard, that they should not see with their eyes and get the thought with their hearts and
turn around and I should heal them.’ (41) Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and he
spoke about him.
If John had no problem saying that Isaiah’s vision of Jehovah in his temple was a vision of
Christ’s glory, why should we? Even the NWT references Isaiah 6:1 to John 12:41! (cf. also Isaiah
45:22-24 with Phil 2:9-11). Let us discuss now the next inconsistency in the NWT.
2Thessalonians 1:9 refers to Isaiah 2:10,19,21 (LXX). Why the Tetragrammaton does not
occur in the NWT? The apostle Paul evidently quotes this passage from Septuagint and applies it to
the ascension of Jesus Christ. The passage from Isaiah 2:10,19,21 reads in the NWT as follows:
Isaiah 2:10,19,21 – (…) because of the dreadfulness of Jehovah, and from his splendid superiority, (…)
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A literal word-for-word translation from the Greek text is:
Isaiah 2:10, 19, 21 (Brenton) – (…) for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, (…)
The passage from 2Thes 1:9 reads as follows:
2Thes 1:9 (NWT) – These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction
from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength,
The following table shows some of the passages which are quotations from the Septuagint
but the NWT does not contain the divine name “Jehovah” because they all refer to Jesus:
Passage
Text in the (honest) NWT
Quotation (LXX)
Romans 10:9-13
that ‘word in your own mouth,’ that Jesus is Lord (YHWH), Joel 2:32 (3:5)
Philippians 2:10-11 every tongue (…) that Jesus Christ is Lord (YHWH)
Isaiah 45:23
2Thessalonians 1:9 before the Lord (YHWH) and from the glory of his strength, Isaiah 2:10,19,21
Hebrews 1:10
And (to the Son): “You at *the+ beginning, O Lord (YHWH),
Psalm 102:25
1Peter 2:3
Provided YOU have tasted that the Lord (YHWH) is kind.
Psalm 34:8 (33:8)
1Peter 3:14-15
But sanctify the Christ as Lord (YHWH) in YOUR hearts,
Isaiah 8:12-13
2Peter 1:1 (our God and Savior, Jesus Christ)
The Recovery Version reads:
2Peter 1:1 – Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been allotted faith
equally precious as ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
However, the NWT renders this passage as follows:
2Peter 1:1 – Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith,
held in equal privilege with ours, by the righteousness of our God and [the] Savior, Jesus Christ:
Notice that the definite article “the” is in brackets. This means that the word is not present in
the Greek text but was inserted by the translators of the NWT in order to deny the deity of Jesus
Christ. The issue here is, namely, whether the Greek expression TOU THEOU HEMON KAI SOTEROS
IESOU CHRISTOU refers to one person, Jesus Christ, who is addressed as ‘God and Savior’, or to two
separate persons, the Father being addressed as ‘God’ and Jesus Christ as ‘Savior’. That Jesus is being
called “God” in this passage is confirmed by five parallel expressions applied to Jesus:
Verse
Greek Text
Translation
2 P 1:1
TOU THEOU HEMON KAI SOTEROS IESOU CHRISTOU of our God and Savior
Jesus Christ
2P 1:11
TOU KURIOU HEMON KAI SOTEROS IESOU CHRISTOU of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
2P 2:20
TOU KURIOU KAI SOTEROS IESOU CHRISTOU of the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
2P 3:2
TOU KURIOU KAI SOTEROS
of the Lord and Savior
2P 3:18
TOU KURIOU HEMON KAI SOTEROS IESOU CHRISTOU of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
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When we notice that Peter uses precisely the same construction in 2P 1:1 with the simple
substitution of “God” for “Lord” it becomes obvious that he wishes “our God and Savior” to be
applied to Christ, just as “our Lord and Savior” applies to him later in the epistle. It must be pointed
out that if Peter wanted to clearly distinguish Christ from his Father he could have added only the
second article before “Savior” (TOU THEOU HEMON KAI TOU SOTEROS IESOU CHRISTOU) or could
have written TOU THEOU HEMON KAI IESOU CHRISTOU TOU SOTEROS HEMON as he similarly does it
in the very next verse 2 P 1:2 (TOU THEOU KAI IESOU TOU KURIOU HEMON). Thus, there is no reason
to deny that in the passage of this section Jesus Christ is called “our God and Savior”.
2 Peter 3:10 (and the earth and the works in it will be burned up)
The passage is translated in the NWT as follows:
Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a hissing noise, but
the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be discovered.
There are following discrepancies here:
1. The Greek word KURIOS, which means “Lord” is altered to the divine name “Jehovah”.
However, Tetragrammaton does not appear in the Greek text.
2. The Greek word KATAKAIO (Strong #2618), which means “to burn up” or “consume by fire”,
is changes to “discover”. However, there is a world of difference between “Our dinner was
burned up!” and “Our dinner was discovered!”
Additionally, the same Greek phrase HEMERA TOU KURIOU is rendered in 1Cor 1:8, 5:5;
2Cor 1:14; Rev 1:10 as “the day of the Lord” but in Acts 2:20; 1Thes 5:2; 2Thes 2:2; 2Peter 3:10 as
“the day of Jehovah”. This inconsistency strongly supports the viewpoint that the Tetragrammaton
should not appear in the NWT, unless Jesus is Jehovah!
Jude 1:4 (our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ)
The Recovery Version reads:
Jude 4 – For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who of old have been written of beforehand for
this judgment, ungodly men, perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness and denying our
only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
However, the NWT renders this passage as follows:
Jude 4 – My reason is that certain men have slipped in who have long ago been appointed by the
Scriptures to this judgment, ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an
excuse for loose conduct and proving false to our only Owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew word ADHONAI without an additional suffix always refers to the divine name.
Therefore it is appropriate to translate it as “Sovereign Lord”. It should be pointed out that
equivalent of this Hebrew word is the Greek word DESPOTES. Clearly, DESPOTES with KURIOS is
applied to the true God. The following table shows the usage:
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